Morning Moments

1 Tim. 4:1 (KJV)
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

HOW TO SPOT SEDUCTIVE DECEIVERS 4:1-5

We often read in the Gospels where the enemies of Jesus took counsel against him. It is the same with these SEDUCTIVE DECEIVERS. You might see them huddled in a corner in the back of the church or at a convention, and up to no good and scheming. There is NO word spoken in secret that shall not be revealed, so be careful little tongue what you say.

Remember this, sheep and goats may graze together, but they do not devour one another. Such is not the case with wolves. They creep in slyly and devour little by little until the sheep are dead. Know any churches that way? Know any people that way? Sometimes seductive church members can do more damage than seductive leaders, but BOTH are to be REJECTED.

REMEMBER THEIR PURPOSE
Their intent is to deceive the flock, divide the flock and to devour the flock. The best was to accomplish this is to create a disrespect for the shepherd God has placed over the flock.

Notice: They Abandon the Faith (that body of truth once for all delivered unto the saints). The Holy Spirit is speaking to Timothy through Paul in specific (expressly) terms. It is He who is reminding us that these seductive deceivers have departed from the faith which is the body of revealed truth. Since misery loves company, they seek to lead weak, ignorant, and unstable believers away with them.

Not only do these false teachers turn from the truth, but they also embrace error. We see that in the words, "giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons".

They also Adhere to Falsehoods.

Satan is a liar and the father of lies, so if any spirit teaches anything that is contrary to Sound Doctrine, it is clear it is NOT the Spirit of God. This "misleading" is done by demons once one decides that revealed truth is not adequate or incomplete. The progression is disasterous. They spin revealed truth in such a way that it leads to license or legalism and both are to be rejected.

They seek to discredit the teacher of truth so that their error might become more palatable - easier to swallow. They may even appeal to "reason" to divide. "Come on, do you really think the Bible teaches that so and so is true? That's just the pastor's interpretation." Satan always begins by creating doubt which leads to distrust, disbelief, disobedience, and discipline.

Let's look at a good example: The moral values of many has changed about adultery for example. God does not consent to it nor cover it - He condemns it. It is not an affair. It is adultery. It is not gay. It is perversion, and God condemns it. It is not abortion, it is murder. I don't give a rip if every state accepts this stuff, or if Washington supports it, or if the world says it's okay - Our tolerance has taken us away from truth. One can come to genuine repentance and faith but that means CHANGE in mind and will about it. So many church people have been deceived about these very things. They are abominable, not acceptable by God.

Satan said to Eve, "Are you sure God said that? Could you be mistaken in your understanding?" He always creates doubt that leads us away from truth. What he does with us is precisly what he did with Eve. Be not ignorant of Satan's devices. Note the progression: doubt the truth, devalue the truth, and disregard the truth to such a degree as to lead people to discredit the truth. This has happened with "affairs" which are nothing more than adultery, Divorce which is nothing more that sinful selfishness if not for Immorality, Sodomy, which is sexual perversion, pornagraphy which is nothing more than LUST, Discipline, whether in the home, the church, or society, and a thousand others. Even the "Bible Totin' Baptists have weakened in some of these areas.

Several years ago I attended the Southern Baptist Conventiion. The big issue then was THE BIBLE. There had been debate over ordaining women and something else which I cannot recall. Suddenly, a TV camera was in my face and a newsperson asked my opinion. To which I replied, It has nothing to do with women or whatever else it was, it has to do with your position on THE WORD OF GOD. Settle that and you will settle the rest."

You can love the Lord Jesus and wash feet, baptize forward, misunderstand election, misunderstand a true believer's security, when the rapture will take place, or when the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place and many other things that creates division in the body, but you CANNOT love Jesus and not love the Word of God as the final authority for faith and practice.

False teaching appeal to the mind and emotions rather than the spirit. It sounds so reasonable and is so appealing that those who are unstable in the faith and not grouned in the Word of God are often easily misled. It is CRITICAL that we be able to evaluate all teaching by the inerrant and infallible Word of God.

God will take care of the separation of sheep and goats, but we had better take care of the wolves in sheep's clothing.

BLESSINGS!